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Lemon Cream Body Butter

I posted this recipe almost 3 years ago, and it’s still my favorite body butter, (I often use it in place of lotion during the really cold, dry months). Usually body butters take forever to sink in and leave my skin semi oily, but this body butter absorbs quickly and leaves my skin super soft.

I’ve updated the photos for this post because it’s hard to get excited about a recipe when the photos are less than optimal, (and oh my word, the old ones were definitely a trip down memory lane to when I could barely use a point and shoot much less a DLSR). The recipe remains the same, even after making this many times, I’ve never altered it. I’ve also added a bit more to the description for how to make this body butter (but I left the rest of the post as it was originally). So I hope you’ll enjoy one of my all time favorite recipes, and you’ll certainly enjoy super soft skin if you make this body butter!

My good habit of using my pumice stone everyday to maintain soft feet, disappeared somewhere over the course of the winter. Well…., it’s spring and I just got my sandals out so it’s time to take action. The pumice stone is once again in use, and Lemon Cream Body Butter is fixing all my winter skin blues.

It’s really nice to have something extra moisturizing, and this really fits the bill. Also, it smells so good that I want to eat it. This body butter is particularly good for softening dry or scaly skin and restoring it to softness again. I find that my hands, elbows, and feet need a little extra care throughout the seasons, and a regular lotion just isn’t enough. Enter body butter. Lately I’ve started using it as a cuticle cream as well, and it’s been working great.

I used lemon essential oil, but any citrus oil smells wonderful, as does vanilla. I buy my cocoa butter at a local health food store because it’s the easiest place to find it other than online shopping.

You want to melt the ingredients over low heat until just warm. If you get the ingredients too warm you can destroy some of their beneficial properties.

This body butter becomes fully solidified after 24 hours, but I like to speed up the process by placing it over an ice water bath and stirring until it firms up. Don’t worry if you come back to it in a few hours and it looks a little softer, it will become stable after 24 hours, although it does melt if the room temperature gets too high.

This is definitely a luxurious body butter, it feels like buttercream frosting, and I haven’t found anything else that softens my skin quite like this does.

This body butter doesn’t have any beeswax in it, so it melts as it comes in contact with your skin. I find that it absorbs into my skin way better than the ones that I’ve tried made with beeswax.

Note: coconut oil melts at about 76 degrees Fahrenheit, so this body butter will become liquid if your room temperature is a little warmer.

Update: the temperature in our house has fluctuated a lot as the outside temperatures get warmer, and my body butter has melted a couple of times now. You can remix it with a fork to make it fluffy again or just use it a little firmer. Either way, it works the same. If you want it to remain stable, you can experiment with adding 2 Tablespoon of beeswax instead of the cacao butter. I like mine without wax because it absorbs better into my skin!

I have tried a couple of recipes now for body butters and this is one of them I´ve tried. As I´ve read in your comments; the chocolate smell is VERY strong with cocoa butter, and my essential oils seemed to fade away completely – even using 40-50 drops. I will try letting it cool off in the fridge before I add them next time. I do however feel a little greasy after using this body butter. I put my elbow on the table and there was a greasy spot when I moved it. I tried that website http://www.makeyourspa.info and it was not recipes for things like this; it seemed to be a search tool of some kind. I really would like to know where most people are getting their recipes for these home items. Iḿ searching Pinterest, and some websites, but not having much luck finding many different recipes. Would you mind sharing some sites or other blogs that you also use? I am very new to making things like this and I need all the guidance I can get. Thank you for sharing your recipes too! Thatś the one I am currently using, but I do want a body butter that´s not so chocolatey smelling too.

Body butters are a deep moisturizer, so if you’re finding it’s too greasy, you might want to try one of my lotions instead. I actually don’t have any website recommendations, I just try things out, but you might try out some shea butter in place of the cocoa butter if you’re not crazy about the smell. I hope this helps a little, and be sure to let me know if you have anymore questions!

I’m not sure it you would have the same texture if you used shea butter because it can sometimes make lotions and body butters a bit granular in feel, but you could try it out. As for the carrot oil, do yo mean carrot seed oil? I think that should be fine if add some, depending on how much you add, you might want to adjust the recipe a bit.

I’m not sure if the color of your skin would make any difference with this body butter, but essential oils can be a problem for some people with sensitive skin. I personally have very sensitive skin and citrus essential oils aren’t a problem for me, but it’s definitely different for each individual. I hope I’ve answered your question, but if not let me know some more details about what concerns you with this recipe. 🙂

They are the same thing, but that’s definitely is confusing, so I’ve changed the recipe to match the label on the cocoa butter. I hope you enjoy the recipe, and please let me know if you have anymore questions!

I wouldn’t recommend using real lemon juice because it will cause the body butter to spoil quickly, my guess would be within 1-2 weeks. I hope this helps, and be sure to let me know how it goes, or if you have anymore questions! 🙂

There’s definitely a light chocolate/cacao butter scent int he final product which I love with the lemon essential oil. But If you don’t like that smell, I wouldn’t make this recipe because I don’t think you can cover up the smell. I have 2 lotions that don’t have cacao butter in them that you might like better, and I’ll leave the links below. I hope you find one that you like, and be sure to let me know if you have anymore questions! 🙂

I think you’ll still need to heat up the cocoa butter since it’s usually quite solid, but then you could add your liquid coconut oil, the other ingredients, and proceed from there. I hope this helps, but be sure to let me know if you have anymore questions! 🙂

I’m sorry but I don’t know exactly how many drops would be the equivalent, but you can just add drops, stirring as you go until it smells good to you. I hope you enjoy the recipe, and be sure to let me know if you have anymore questions! 🙂

I’m not sure what else to sub in for the cocoa butter other than shea butter, but you could try using more coconut oil with some beeswax melted in. I’m not sure if it will have the same texture since I’ve never tried it that way, but it’s the only other thing I can think of. You might want to try my Easy Buttercream Lotion or Cooling Aloe Mint Lotion instead. They’re both deeply moisturizing body lotions, and you can use straight coconut oil for extra dry places like hands, feet, and elbows/knees. I hope this helps, and be sure to let me know if you have anymore questions!

This body butter doesn’t need to be refrigerated, and it lasts well for me for 6-8 weeks. I’ve always used it up within that amount of time, so I’m not sure how long it would last beyond that. The texture of the body butter does change over time with temperature fluctuations, whenever mine’s been melted in the heat of the summer, I just let it cool to a solid before re-mixing it with a fork or small spatula. I hope this helps, and I’ve made a note of the shelf life in the recipe for anyone reading in the future! 🙂

I just made a batch of this butter and it is fantastic!! I didn’t have vitamin E, so I used slightly less than 1 tablespoon of Sweet Almond Oil instead. I also used Sweet Orange essential oil in place of the lemon for two reasons. One is because orange essential oil is not phototoxic, so I won’t have to worry about going out in the sun after applying and second, I wanted this to smell like those chocolate oranges you buy around Christmas time – you know, the ones you whack on the table to break apart into sections. And oh my goodness, it smells just like them! It feels heavenly on my skin too. Thanks for this easy, awesome recipe.

Oh, and just FYI for anyone making this, 6 Tablespoons (of the coconut oil) is equivalent to just slightly more than 1/3 cup. I found it much easier to use my measuring cup than my measuring spoon for this. 🙂

Where is the step in the recipe/instructions that get it fluffy? I keep re-reading it, and all I get is that you melt it together and then let it cool. I can’t figure out when it should be getting it’s nice texture. Doesn’t seem to be a very complete recipe 🙁

Hi Louisa, first of all thanks for writing because I realized I needed to be more specific in the recipe. You do just melt the ingredients together and then let it cool, but I like to stir it vigorously to make it a little lighter before placing it in a clean container, (I just made a note in the recipe). Also I described a way to speed it up by using an ice bath in the post, and I added a note about that to the recipe. The body butter stays nice and fluffy around 70ºF but if the temperature flucuates the body butter can become hard at cold temperatures and melt at warmer temperatures. If it melts the texture isn’t quite as fluffy, but it works exactly the same. I hope this helps, be sure to let me know if you have anymore questions, and thanks so much for writing because it really helped me improve the recipe! 🙂

I wouldn’t use lemon juice because it will cause the product to spoil, most likely within 1 week. If you can’t find essential oils in your area, you can order them online, (Aura Cacia is a great brand) or you can leave it out entirely. I hope you enjoy the recipe, and be sure to let me know if you have anymore questions!

Shea butter doesn’t act the same way the cocoa butter does in homemade products. It’s usually more unstable and can cause body butters to separate. Also I’d be careful about adding a serum, different ingredients react differently together and while it could be a good combination, there’s no real way to tell. I’m sorry I don’t have a direct answer, but I have no way of telling whether or not these substitutions would work.

I’m not sure if the coconut oil you’re talking about is the same as mine, but I use just a regular coconut oil that you would use for cooking and such. You can scoop it out of a jar at room temperature and pack it into the measuring cup, if you have to grate yours at room temperature, I’m not sure it would work very well because the body butter will turn out too hard. I hope this answers your question, be sure to let me know how it goes, or if you have anymore questions!

Shea butter is quite a bit softer than cacao butter, but it should work, except the body butter will be softer. The other thing I’ve noticed about shea butter, is that it tends to separate out of products after a couple of days, making the lotions I’ve tried a little be granular, (they still work just fine, it’s just a texture thing). I hope you enjoy the recipe, and be sure to let me know how it goes, or if you have anymore questions!

This makes 2/3 cup of body butter, but you could multiply the ingredients for bigger batches if you’d like. I haven’t made this in larger batches but I’ll include the measurements if you wanted to. Since the recipe doesn’t have any beeswax in it, it should be easy to make a bigger batch, (anything with wax in it can be difficult to multiply because the wax doesn’t always get melted in properly). One reader suggested whipping the body butter after it sets up in a mixer to keep it stable which might also help if you’re giving it away. To make 8 gifts of 1/3 cup body butter each you’ll need: 1 1/2 cups coconut oil – 1 cup cacao butter – 1/4 cup vitamin E oil – and 1 Teaspoon lemon essential oil. For 16 gifts of 1/3 cup each you’ll need: 3 cups coconut oil – 2 cups cacao butter – 1/2 cup vitamin E oil – and 2 Teaspoons lemon essential oil. Cacao butter in larger quantities can be expensive in a health food store, so I’d recommend buying it in bulk by the pound online. I hope this helps, and be sure to let me know how it goes!

Hi Kari! Thanks for this recipe. I love body butters and am anxious to try this recipe with my own essential oil blend. I do have 1 question, can you smell the cocoa butter once it is all mixed up? I am wondering if there is competition between the scent of the cocoa butter and the lemon oil.
Thanks!!

Yes you can smell the cocoa butter after it’s finished, but I personally love the combination of cocoa butter and lemon because it reminds me of lemon cookies. I’m not sure what the smell might be like with other essential oils. I hope you enjoy the recipe, and be sure to let me know how it goes, or if you have anymore questions!

I’m so glad I found this page (a FB post about your apple pie smoothie bowl led me here). I read an article yesterday in the Washington Post about how many chemicals commonly used in skin care products and cosmetics in the US have been banned in Europe. My pre-teen daughter is starting to get interested in both and I’ll feel better making something so simple for her use at home. Thanks!

I’m so glad you found us! This body butter is one of my go-to’s along with my Easy Buttercream Lotion, Pineapple Facial, and Homemade Deodorant. I use these recipes more than any of the others, although the sugar scrubs are nice, and the Cooling Aloe Mint Lotion is a favorite for hotter weather. I hope you find some recipes you enjoy, and be sure to let me know if you have any questions!

The only thing I can think of is that your room temperature might be very warm which could cause it not to set up. Both coconut oil and cocoa butter are solid at room temperature so it should set up within a few hours. A little trick I use to speed things up is to place the body butter over an ice bath and stir it with a spatula until it sets up. It might melt a bit after that, but it does become fully stable by the next day. I really hope this helps a little, and be sure to let me know if you have anymore questions!

I haven’t made this in larger batches but I’ll include the measurements if you wanted to. Since the recipe doesn’t have any beeswax in it, it should be easy to make a bigger batch, (anything with wax in it can be difficult to multiply because the wax doesn’t always get melted in properly). One reader suggested whipping the body butter after it sets up in a mixer to keep it stable which might also help if you’re giving it away. To make 8 gifts of 1/3 cup body butter each you’ll need: 1 1/2 cups coconut oil – 1 cup cacao butter – 1/4 cup vitamin E oil – and 1 Teaspoon lemon essential oil. For 16 gifts of 1/3 cup each you’ll need: 3 cups coconut oil – 2 cups cacao butter – 1/2 cup vitamin E oil – and 2 Teaspoons lemon essential oil. Cacao butter in larger quantities can be expensive in a health food store, so I’d recommend buying it in bulk by the pound online. I hope this helps, and be sure to let me know how it goes! 🙂

There’s no arrowroot called for in the recipe, I’ve never put it in my body butters so I really couldn’t say how much you might want. I don’t find this body butter greasy at all because it absorbs really well into my skin, but if you’re looking for a lighter cream you might like my Cooling Aloe Mint Lotion. I hope this goes well for you and be sure to let me know if you have anymore questions!https://getinspiredeveryday.com/lifestyle/cooling-aloe-mint-body-lotion/

Leave the E oil in however make sure it is T-50 Vitamin E and NOT the oil you take in capsule form. T-50 is all natural derived from plants. The Vitamin E that is in the capsules is synthetic and is not good for the skin and causes rashes in some people. Anther thing do NOT mix olive oil and coconut oil the combo has a drying effect on the skin that is why some soaps are drying. You want your body butter less greasy feeling put arrowroot in the oil before adding it to your butters. It makes a hug difference. It also helps the butter soak into the skin faster. I order it online. I personally love shea mango body butter with almond and a teaspoon of T-50 vitamin E to help the oils to last longer. It is an anti oxidant that helps oil from going rancid as fast.

Thanks so much for the Vitamin E oil tips, I always buy a brand meant for skin but I didn’t know about the T-50 kind. I’ve never mixed olive oil and coconut oil together before but I’m glad to know it’s not a good idea, I mostly keep it simple with a tendency towards coconut oil because I love how it keeps my skin moisturized!

Hey Kari! Love this recipe. Do you think I could add vanilla to it to change a scent a bit? This is my 1st time making anything like this at home, so I’m not really hip on how this things will or won’t blend together. Thanks for any direction!

I wouldn’t add vanilla extract to any body butter recipe because they are really high in oils, and the liquid of the vanilla won’t blend in properly. If you do want to add the vanilla smell, I would recommend a vanilla essential oil instead, it’s pretty expensive but a little goes a long way. Also you can sometimes find diluted vanilla essential oil where it’s been mixed with a carrier oil like grapeseed or something similar, and you could use that in place of the vitamin E oil. Let me know if you have anymore questions, and I hope you enjoy the recipe!

I finally found a paleo dessert that had all of the ingredients I had handy in my cupboard!
These cookies were absolutely delicious! I loved the almond butter flavor mixed with the cocoa.
The first batch I rolled with my hands into half inch balls and baked them for approx. 9 minutes. They came out perfect.

The next batch I spooned onto the cookie sheet and they resulted in huge oddly shaped splatters that needed to be cooked longer resulting in dryness and over chewiness.
Moral of the story: don’t make them too big, and don’t over cook them.
Otherwise you will have a perfect cookie!

What a great website- thank you so much for the recipe, and I look forward to trying some of your other items. Especially the body butter!

Did you make my Double Chocolate Almond Butter cookies? Those are one of my all-time favorites! 🙂 I hope you enjoy the Body Butter, I find it’s particularly useful this time of year at the end of a long winter!

I used 100% pure cocoa butter which comes in both jars and bars, but it’s definitely not a cream because it’s quite hard until it’s melted. I hope you enjoy the recipe, and be sure to let me know if you have anymore questions! 🙂

I don’t think using unrefined cocoa butter would make a difference, but it could be a couple of other factors. How long did you let it sit? It does take a couple hours or so to firm up – this will mostly depend on temperature of the body butter and the temperature of the room. And my second question for you is what is your room temperature? This body butter will melt if it’s over 75ºF, so that could be the problem as well. If you wouldn’t mind filling me in on a few more details, we’ll try to get to the bottom of this! 🙂

I would try using jojoba oil or avocado oil, since both of these oils remain liquid at room temperature it will affect the thickness of the body butter – you could try lowering the amount of coconut oil to 4-5 Tablespoon when you sub in another oil, and add an additional 1-2 Tablespoons of cacao butter to create a similar texture. Hope this works for you, and let me know how it goes! 🙂

Cocoa butter is essential in this recipe because it’s what creates the thick body butter texture. I really don’t of any other possible substitute, but you can order cocoa butter online if it’s not available locally. 🙂

You should be able to substitute almond oil for vitamin E oil – the vitamin E oil is slightly thicker but I don’t think it’s enough of a difference to matter in the end. Let me know how it goes, and I hope you enjoy the recipe! 🙂

I tried this & it was great. My skin is extra dry so this thickness was great. Although I can’t smell the lemon the cocoa butter scent over power the lemon scent. Is there anyway to tone down the cocoa butter scent?

Different brands of cocoa butter smell more or less strong. You could add a bit more lemon essential oil, (but be careful with citrus essential oils because the irritate some peoples skin) or you could try using shea butter in place of cocoa butter which has a milder scent. The final product might be a bit softer because shea butter isn’t quite as thick as cocoa butter, but it should work!

Someone asked me recently to make them a citrus scented body butter. I am wondering about the safety of using citrus essential oils in a body butter? I have read that it can cause sensitivity to sun exposure and cause you to burn more easily? I was wondering your thoughts on this, and if I put less of it in, does it lessen the chance of UV sensitivity?

Citrus essential oils can cause sensitivities in certain people. So, just to be on the safe side I’d leave the essential oil out all together. It will still smell good due to the cacao butter and coconut oil.

It’s not usually recommended to use a any kind of body butter on your face because it’s intensely moisturizing and most people find it too oily. Personally, I use straight oil on my face all the time and body butters in place of eye cream (always at nighttime), but I do try to stay away from anything scented on my face. In short, if your skin isn’t super sensitive it should be fine, or you can leave out the essential oil to be on the safe side. 🙂

I didn’t find it greasy at all on my skin, but body butters are meant for the driest areas like hands, feet, elbows, and the like. If you’re finding body butters greasy, only apply them to the areas that need a bit more moisture. I’ve found this body butter makes an excellent cuticle cream as well.

Great recipe, very similar to mine (in my book). Its amazing what you can make at home to moisturize, repair and protect your skin. Natural ingredients and recipes like these and others using essential oils like tamanu, neroli and frankincense that have wonderful beneficial properties for skin 🙂

You can store it in the fridge but it will be pretty hard. Whenever it melts, I just pour a bit into my hands it still works the same way. You could also try the wax substitution for more stability in the summer!

Coconut oil will remain in a semi-solid state even at higher temperatures if beaten with an electric mixer while it is in its solid state. So if you cool this mixture and then put the chunks into an electric mixer and blend until creamy, it should remain that consistency even at warmer room temperatures.

Thanks so much for your great tips, I can’t wait to try them out! 🙂 Sometimes I let my lotions fully cool in my blender and then blend until fluffy and super smooth, but I’ve never tried the mixer before.

This is probably my easiest DIY recipe to make because you simply melt the ingredients together, and then stir it vigorously over an ice bath until it thickens. It’s easier than homemade lotions because it doesn’t contain any wax, and there’s no emulsification process. I love making this recipe for gifts because it’s quick and easy to make, and everyone loves it because it leaves you skin super soft.

I am having a ball making my own body butter and other spa products using http://www.MakeYourSpa.info – I’m making all sorts of things for friends! It’s great for learning how to make luxurious spa products at home immediately and it’s easy 🙂 I save a lot of money not going to the spa and the products are exactly the same, if not better. I have used my friends and family to try out the products I’ve made and they have been absolutely delighted! I’m thoroughly enjoying working my way through the recipes and then adjusting them to my own design. I really wish I had started this years ago.

Hi everyone! My name is Kari. I'm enjoying country living here in the Flathead Valley, Montana. I love to create mostly healthy recipes, and occasionally a chocolatey indulgence. I hope you find something inspirational; let me know what you think.
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